Life Before the War
by daughterofBarricade
Summary: Helen didn't want to get married yet. Menelaus didn't even think he had a chance to win the most beautiful woman in Greece. But the fates work in mysterious ways. First they'll give you something good, only to yank it away from you.*A set up before the Trojan war. Set in the abody and Sherman film universe, but no appearences by peabody or sherman, only Greek characters
1. The Lucky Straw

**A/N: Okay here's my new fanfic project, yes I know I have a lot of other fics to worry about (and I say that a lot), but this one is gonna be based on Greek Mythology, which is right up my alley. **

**Now mind you, while I have this listed under the ' and Sherman' crossover, I would like to make it clear that neither Mr. Peabody nor Sherman will be making an appearance in this fic. The only reason why I have it in this section is because I'm basing the characters on the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film. For example, Odysseus will be short and chubby (and not too bright), while Agamemnon will look and act (hopefully I can get his character right) just like he did in the film, and so on and so forth. **

**Now as you noticed, I crossed the fic over with Greek Mythology as that is what I'm gonna focus on. So I'm gonna **_**sort of**_** follow the mythology stories, but note that there **_**will **_**be some changes along the way. Some of the changes will be small and some will be big, and some of the changes will be VERY big. (Kinda like how Disney 'adjusted' the Greek myths to make their Hercules movie and TV series)**

**Alright, with all that being said, here is the first chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I'm not really sure how to do this…I guess the characters belong to Mr. Peabody and Sherman. I am making absolutely NO money off this fic. **

**And one last thing, when you see this, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~name~~~~~~~~~~~~, that signals a scene change. **

The Lucky Straw

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most would agree that watching your father being murdered and then being forced into exile for several years, was a terrifying thing.

They would also agree that having to spend six years training and planning to kill your own uncle and finally committing said act is one of the most difficult and stressful things someone could do.

For Menelaus however, all that seemed like nothing compared to what he was doing at this moment. Sure it was traumatizing to see his dad get brutally murdered and having to run away with his older brother to avoid the same grizzly end, wasn't the best thing a ten and a twelve year old should go through.

Yet as crazy as it sounds, Menelaus would rather face his murderous relatives again than be here competing with forty four other men for the hand of young, Spartan princess, Helen. In fact, it wasn't even his idea to be here in the first place.

It was Agamemnon's doing. _He_ was the one who insisted that Menelaus should go and try his luck at winning Helen.

Under any other occasion, Menelaus would have challenged his brother and retorted with 'why don't _you_ go and try to win her?', but that would have been a stupid question as Agamemnon was already married to Clytemnestra, and the two were busy expecting their first (technically second) baby.

Menelaus held back a shiver at that thought. He honestly didn't trust Clytemnestra and he often wondered what his older brother saw in her. Sure she was fairly attractive and all, but the foul attitude she would develop whenever things didn't go her way made Menelaus wonder if she was some sort of harpy or gorgon in disguise.

With this theory in mind, it was no wonder why the younger prince was so hesitant in coming to Sparta. He had not heard much about Helen, nor had he ever seen her, but if she was anything like her spoiled sister, then he would be better off loosing. And just by looking around, Menelaus could already tell that he was out of his league.

Most of the men were older than him, some only by a few years, while others by a decade…or more. Only a few were teens younger than him, and the small remaining handful were around the age of eighteen like him. None the less, it seemed that the older men were stronger than him while the ones around his age looked as if they could easily match him in strength. That being said, it would be quite difficult to prove himself worthy in a physical challenge. To make matters worse, it didn't help that he was also one of the shorter males in the group.

Even his _hair and eye_ color seemed to stack the odds against him. Menelaus could hear the snickers from the other men as they commented on his dark blond hair and grey eyes, labeling him as the 'oddball' of the suitors.

It was odd how this world worked. If a woman had light colored hair or colorful eyes, it was the most attractive thing in the world, but if a _man_ had these looks, then they are considered 'weird' or 'unmanly'.

Running a hand through his dirty blond hair, Menelaus glanced over at King Tyndareus, who was busy walking around greeting the many suitors. A young woman stood beside him, greeting the various other kings and princes with what looked like a forced smile. It only took a few seconds for Menelaus to figure out that this young woman was the reason why he and every other suitor were gathered here today.

Standing beside King Tyndareus, was none other than Princess Helen of Sparta.

Menelaus blinked in amazement at the young beauty. There was no doubt that she was probably one of the most beautiful women in Greece, second only to Aphrodite.

'That would explain why so many men of royalty responded to Tyndareus' invitation.' Menelaus mused before standing up straight. The Spartan king was gracefully making his way towards the blond prince of Mycenae with his daughter trailing close behind.

"Menelaus my boy!" The king greeted cheerfully as he patted the teenager on the back.

Menelaus smiled and nodded to the ruler respectfully, "King Tyndareus." He replied.

Tyndareus placed a hand on Helen's back. "As you may have already heard, this is my daughter, and the princess of Troy, Helen." He then placed his other hand on Menelaus' back, "Helen, this is Prince Menelaus of Mycenae." He introduced.

The two young royals nodded at each other with small smiles on their faces.

Menelaus decided to take this moment to check out Helen, and boy was she prettier up close! She was a slim, petite teenager around the age of fifteen or so, and had wavy, blond hair that went down just past her shoulders. The most stunning aspect of the princess was her blue eyes, which stared back into his light grey ones.

Menelaus swallowed the lump in his throat before finally forcing himself to greet her, "It's a pleasure to meet you Princess Helen."

Helen's smile grew ever so slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you too Prince Menelaus."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tyndareus 'POV'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyndareus beamed. Helen had been introduced to many of the men that had come seeking her hand in marriage, but Menelaus was the first and only man that had received a genuine smile and a greeting that didn't seem forced.

Naturally, the old king took this as a sign that his younger daughter was interested in the light haired boy, and had the circumstances of the two meeting been different, Tyndareus would have offered Helen to Menelaus then and there. However, due to the fact that the suitors consisted of powerful kings and princes, flat out choosing one suitor out of the rest, could result in _unwanted_ consequences. Threats could be made, treaties and alliances could be broken, or even _wars_ could break out!

Tyndareus pursed his lips. With those types of risks, it would be better to stick with his original plan of holding a contest to see who would win Helen. Who knows, perhaps Menelaus would be the winner.

'Speaking of contest…where is Odysseus?' Tyndareus thought while looking around the crowd. The young King of Ithaca had assured him that he would think of a fair contest to see who would win the Spartan princess' hand.

He finally spotted the short king standing a small distance away from the other suitors, talking to Penelope. King Tyndareus frowned, wondering what his niece was doing with what was supposed to be Helen's suitors.

Turning back to his daughter, he gave an apologetic smile in Menelaus' direction, "I'm sorry to cut into your conversation, but Helen and I must be going." He looked down at Helen, "Come Helen, there is something I must discuss with Odysseus." With that, they bid Menelaus good bye, and made their way to where Helen's cousin was busy sharing a conversation with the Ithacan king.

'I really hope he hasn't wasted all this time goofing off!' Tyndareus thought worriedly. He was counting on the little shrimp to provide a good challenge for the suitors. True Odysseus didn't seem like the smartest King in Greece, but there were times when his hidden intelligence would shine through, and he would think up of pretty clever ideas.

As he neared the duo, Tyndareus noticed that Odysseus was holding a bunch of hay straws in his hand.

Clearing his throat, Tyndareus managed to get the attention of his niece and Odysseus. Upon seeing her uncle and cousin, Penelope blushed and backed away from what was supposed to be _Helen's _suitor. Tyndareus paid her no mind, and instead looked down at Odysseus.

"Have you thought of a solution to help decide who Helen shall marry?" He inquired politely. Helen cringed. It scared her to know that by the end of the day, she would be promised to one of these strangers that she knew nothing about.

To her horror, Odysseus gave a huge grin and nodded enthusiastically before holding up his hand that held the hay straws.

"We'll draw straws!" Odysseus announced proudly.

Tyndareus and Helen shared a look. 'Oh gods, _please_ tell me he's joking!' Helen prayed, while casting her father a pleading gaze. Her hopes were shattered when she saw the thoughtful expression on her dad's face. 'Are you kidding me?! He's actually considering on going through with this?!' Helen panicked. This couldn't be happening! As her father had made it clear that he wouldn't be accepting gifts from the suitors, Helen had thought that some sort of actual challenge would be made to test the suitors strength or intellect. She had honestly thought there would be a footrace or a fight or _something_ that would be more dignifying than a game of luck! Her father might as well close his eyes and randomly point out into the crowd of suitors and see who the 'lucky' man that would get to marry Helen.

Tyndareus, however, thought this could be a quick and easy way to choose a suitor, if only there wasn't this one problem…

"What if the other men get upset over their loss? That will definitely start a conflict, which is exactly what I _want_ to avoid!" The king questioned, but Odysseus had already thought of a solution to that problem.

"We'll have them take an oath! Before we draw the straws, the men will have to promise to support whoever the winner is, and they have to promise to protect Helen and her husband if and when the time comes." Odysseus crossed his arms with a proud, satisfied look. Helen and Penelope looked at Tyndareus, who was stroking his beard in thought. "Yes…that could work. Alright it's settled!" he motioned over a servant.

"Gather the suitors and have them stand in a line. Odysseus found a way to choose a suitor." The king instructed. The servant nodded and quickly made his way around the room, repeating what his king had told him.

Tyndareus motioned his daughter and niece over to the other side of the room to wait for the drawing to start. Penelope stood on one side of Tyndareus, while Helen stood on the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helen looked down the newly formed line; her light blue eyes looked the various men over. On the far left side stood Prince Ajax, or as some call him, 'Ajax the Great' or 'Greater Ajax' or 'Telemonian Ajax'. Besides him stood his half-brother Teucer, who was just as arrogant as his half sibling. Helen fought the urge to frown when she noticed the two men giving her hungry, lustful looks.

Tearing her gaze away from the brothers, she continued to observe the rest of the royal men. Most of them were watching Odysseus and the servant in wonder, while a few others regarded her in return.

Thinking back to numerous men her father introduced her to that day, Helen was able to recall the names of several of them. There was Menesthus, Protesilaus, Agapenor, Diomedes, Leonteus, Meges, Ascalaphus, Odysseus (of course), Peneleos, Idomeneus, Thoas, and at the end of the line at the far right was none other than Menelaus.

Out of the forty plus men that had arrived to seek her hand in marriage, Menelaus seemed to be the only decent man that didn't give her looks that could make her shiver. Instead, he had regarded her politely, and though he did give her the ol' 'up and down' look over that many of the men had openly given her while she was greeting them, Menelaus' eyes didn't remain on her chest or 'lower region'.

'He's probably the only one I wouldn't mind marrying.' Helen thought as she allowed her eyes to look over the grey eye, dirty blond haired prince. Unlike the majority of the suitors, Menelaus stood only a few inches taller than her, and if she recalled, he was only three years older than her, so while he wasn't the youngest, he certainly wasn't the oldest. Another thing Helen noticed about Menelaus was the fact that he wasn't too skinny and scrawny like some of the younger men, and he wasn't incredibly over weight like the older kings. He was husky, yes, but she assumed that some of it was muscle and not just fat, and Helen had to admit that she was relieved that he didn't tower over her like some of the 'giants' in the room. 'And at least he's not shorter than me.' She thought while glancing over at Odysseus.

She didn't have anything against short men, but she never actually fancied herself a short husband. Not that it mattered; Penelope seemed to have her eyes on Odysseus for herself.

"Helen I think they're about to start!" Penelope whispered around Tyndareus.

Helen blinked out of her stupor and sent her attention over to where Odysseus was standing in front of the long line of suitors, who were all staring at him in wonder.

'Good-bye freedom and hello strange husband.' Helen thought miserably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Menelaus watched as Odysseus practically skipped so that he was standing in front of the line, a huge grin on his round face.

Menelaus furrowed his brow when he noticed the hay straws in Odysseus' hand. 'Okay then…' he thought as Odysseus cleared his throat, catching the remaining Kings' and Princes' attention.

"Alright, since King Tyndareus couldn't think of a good challenge to decide which one of us would marry Helen," Odysseus started while Tyndareus gave a small face palm when Odysseus mentioned his small plight, and Odysseus continued, "I was asked to think of a way to find out who would be the one that gets to keep Helen."

Helen flinched at the wording.

Odysseus held up the hand that held the straws, "So after lots of thinking-"

"I'll bet it took a lot of thinking!" Ascalaphus snickered to Leonteus, who gave a soft chuckle in agreement. Odysseus didn't seem to hear them as he continued,

"I decided that we should draw straws to see who the winner is!" He looked at the assembled suitors and beamed.

Everyone, including Menelaus gawked. 'Is he serious? _This_ is how Tyndareus is going to choose a husband?' Menelaus thought while casting a glance at the rest of the suitors. Judging by their reactions, they didn't look too happy about this way of choosing.

"You've _got_ to be joking!" Ajax the greater, announced, while the rest of the men nodded in agreement.

Sensing that an argument was about to breakout, Tyndareus quickly stepped forward, hands raised in defense, "Easy now…I know this isn't the best way to do things, but I do believe it is the easiest and fastest way to do it." He assured desperately, now having second thoughts on this whole 'drawing of the straws' thing.

Odysseus stepped around Tyndareus and added, "I think this would be better than if King Tyndareus were to just pick someone out of random. At least this way everybody has a shot."

Menelaus raised his brows. 'For a dunce, Odysseus actually has good logic…sometimes.' He mused as the rest of the suitors began to settle down as they though over what the shrimpy king just said.

Seeing that everyone was now calm, Odysseus pressed on, "Now, before we start picking straws, everyone has to promise that no matter who the husband is, we all have to agree to help and protect Helen and her husband when and if the time comes." He pointed to Ajax, "Promise? And no crossed fingers!"

Ajax rolled his eyes but grumbled out a quick "Yeah, sure, I promise."

After that, Odysseus went down the line, pointing at each suitor and giving a quick "Promise?" and would only move on when the King or prince in question agreed to the oath.

Diomedes leaned down to Menelaus and whispered, "Why can't Odysseus be this smart _all _the time?"

Menelaus snickered, "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure this is his personal record. I'm guessing he'll be back to his old self by tomorrow." Diomedes gave a soft laugh before straitening up, just as Odysseus made it to the end of the line and got to last two men's 'promise'.

Odysseus nodded in satisfaction and held up the straws again, "Okay, here I have the straws; all except two of them are long. That means two of us will get a short straw, then after that there will be a round two where the two with the short straws will have to draw again and whoever of the two gets the shorter straw, wins."

"How do we know which straws are the short ones? Are we going to compare sizes at the end?" Ajax questioned once more.

Odysseus shook his head, "No we'll know which ones the shortest. It'll be pretty obvious; the short straws are half the size of the long ones. Also, if no one gets a short straw, then we'll have a rematch. If only one person get a short straw in the first round, then that person will be the winner." He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to mix up the straws, so that the other men wouldn't accuse him of knowing which straw was the winning one. "I'll go first!" he announced before picking out a straw. A relieved look crossed his face,

"Mine is long. I loose!" he exclaimed a bit too cheerfully while tossing the straw behind his back.

'Well that's one down.' Menelaus thought while crossing his arms. He watched as Odysseus moved to the other end of the line to start with Ajax the greater.

Ajax eyed the straws for a few seconds before tentatively pulling out one of the straws. Automatically, all signs of doubt disappeared when he saw the straw he pulled.

Short.

The first short straw had been drawn!

The rest of the suitors all shifted uneasily. Menelaus ran a hand through his hair. 'Being the last one in line, there is _no way_ I'm going to get the other short straw.' He thought with a shake of his head. In his opinion, he might as well go home.

Looking down the line, he saw Odysseus moving to the other suitors, and watched as man after man picked out a long straw, only for them to groan in defeat and disappointment. Ajax stood off to the side waiting for the other 'winner', his eyes glinting every time one of the suitors drew out a losing straw.

After painstakingly long wait, Odysseus finally arrived to Menelaus. The dark blond haired prince stared down at remaining straws and gulped. Letting out a deep breath, Menelaus raised a hand and pulled out one of the straws, and felt his jaw drop slightly in shock. Everyone seemed to have the same reaction as well.

Odysseus however, grinned at Menelaus, "Hey, you got the second short straw!" he exclaimed.

Menelaus caught a glimpse at Ajax who didn't look too pleased that he still had to compete against someone for Helen's hand.

Odysseus quickly plucked the straw out of Menelaus' hand before pushing him towards Ajax, who was glaring daggers at the slightly younger man. Odysseus took the straw from Ajax and tossed it away and then mixed Menelaus' with a smaller bunch of straws before holding them out.

"Whoever gets the short straw gets to marry Helen. If both of you draw a long one, then we'll have a rematch until someone wins. Ready? Ajax you go first since you got the first short one." Odysseus explained while holding his hand out to the greater Ajax.

Ajax studied the bunch, his eyes hard and focused. He finally reached in and pulled out a straw, only to growl of displeasure. He had pulled out a long straw. Unless Menelaus drew a long one as well, Ajax just may have lost the drawing.

Odysseus moved his hand over to Menelaus and stared up at him expectantly.

Menelaus could feel his heart pound in anticipation, and he could definitely feel sweat forming on his brow. He hated being put on the spot like this. Taking a deep breath and raised to his to hover over Odysseus'. Licking his lips, he closed his eyes and slowly lowered his hand and pulled out his straw.

The sounds of soft gasps made him crack open one eye, only for both of them to snap open in complete awe.

In his hand, was the short straw.

Menelaus had won the draw!

"Menelaus wins!" Odysseus announced to Tyndareus, who was beaming in approval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helen couldn't believe it…the one man she was somewhat okay with marrying, was the one that had actually won this game of luck. What were the odds of that happening?

Castor and Pollux, who had been lurking in a corner in an attempt to stay away from the numerous suitors, walked on either side of their stunned sister and leaned closer to her.

"Well sis, it looks like you got matched up with another blondie." Pollux joked while putting an arm around his little sisters' shoulder. Helen rolled her eyes and shook off his arm. She really didn't need her brothers teasing her at a time like this. It was bad enough she would now have to marry Menelaus, whom she knew close to nothing about, she didn't need to be made fun of right now.

Castor punched his twin in the arm, "Knock it off Pollux, this is serious!" he hissed with a glare. He looked down at Helen and placed his hands on her shoulders. "But seriously Helen; if that guy hurts you in _any_ way…you let us know and well take care of him for you." Pollux nodded, his face somber.

Helen smiled up at her elder brothers. They may be goofballs most of the time, but when the time came, they could be the most over protective brothers around. They had proven it when Helen was kidnapped by Theseus at the tender age of seven, and it seemed that they will be willing to do so again.

"Thanks I'll keep that in mind." She replied with a nod.

Tyndareus appeared in front of Helen, and led her to Menelaus, who looked just as nervous as her. Her father however, either didn't notice or didn't care. Instead, he placed his hands on one of Helen and Menelaus' shoulders and addressed the assembled crowd of rejected suitors, servants and family members.

"Now that it has been decided who Helen will marry, I would also like to add that not only will their marriage mark them as husband and wife, but they will also become the new King and Queen of Sparta!" The older king announced happily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Menelaus' eyes widened when he heard his soon-to-be father-in-laws' declaration.

Had he known that he also ran a chance at becoming a king so soon, he would have resisted his brothers urging to come to Sparta harder.

He wasn't ready to become a _King_! He wasn't even ready to become a husband, and the thought of becoming a _father_ terrified him! If anything, he had hoped to put off tying the knot and having kids for another few years, and he had always told himself that if he _were_ to start a family, it would be with a woman that he had met on his own and fallen in love and married in his own time.

He glanced over at Helen…his future wife, and sighed.

It was official, next time he saw Agamemnon, he was _really_ gonna let him have it for getting him in this situation.

**End Chapter 1**

**Okay, I have **_**no**__**idea**_** how Helen really looked. Most film and TV series she is in depict her as a blond, so that's what I'm basing her on and I added the blue eyes myself…I'm not sure what color her eyes are in other movies. Regardless, this is the way I picture her and I'm sticking to it. Besides, I **_**did**_** say there would be changes. :)**

**I'm also aware that some sources say that Menelaus was a red head, but in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film, it looks like he had dirty blond hair, so I just went with that. As for the eye color, I can't get a good view on them, so I just went with grey. **

**Note: I honestly don't know what Ancient Greeks thought of people, particularly men, with light colored hair and colored eyes. Obviously in films and myths there are Greeks with black, brown, blond and red hair and they don't seem to have a problem with it, so…I don't know. I personally love all hair colors and don't think that one particular color makes a guy 'less manly', but for the sake of this fic, let's just pretend the Greeks do. **

**Myth fun 'facts': **

**~Helen's Suitors- Depending on which version you hear/read, is how many suitors Helen had. Pseudo Apollodorus listed 31 suitors, Hesiod listed 11, and Hyginus listed 36 bringing it to a total of 45 different names. Some of the names were mentioned by one, two or all three of the story tellers, hence why there are only 45 names instead of 78. Here are the names. **

**From Pseudo, Hesiod and Hyginus: Ajax (the greater), Elephenor, Menelaus, Menestheus, Odysseus, and Protesilaus**

**From Pseudo and Hyginus: Agapenor, Ajax (the lesser), Amphimachus, Antilochus, Ascalaphus, Diomedes, Eumelus, Eurypylus, Leonteus, Machaon, Meges, Patroclus, Peneleos, Philoctetes, Podalirius, Polypoetes, Polyxenus, Sthenelus, Thalpius**

**From Pseudo and Hesiod: Amphilochus**

**From Hesiod and Hyginus: Idomeneus**

**From only Hesiod: Alcmaeon, Lycomedes, Podarces**

**From only Hyginus: Ancaeus, Blanirus, Clytius, Meriones, Nireus, Phemius, Phidippus, Prothous, Thoas, Tlepolemus**

**From only Pseudo: Epistrophus, Ialmenus, Leitus, Schedius, Teucer. **

**(For more info, check out the 'Helen of Troy' Wikipedia page)**

**Obviously I didn't choose just one source, I used all of them.:)**

**~Choosing a suitor: According to several of the myth sources, the suitors really did have to draw straws to see who would win. In this story, I had Menelaus present, but in the myths, he never actually went, and instead, sent Agamemnon to represent him. **

**~Yes as I hinted, Helen is fifteen, which was around the age young women in Ancient Greece were married off. (Though some were married off at an even younger age!)**

**~Most men married in their 30's, but I made Menelaus 18 in this fic. (I'll have him grow older at the story goes on as well as in the sequel). **

**~In Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Agamemnon mentions that his father was –Spoiler alert!- a minotaur, but in the actual myths, his father was Atreus, who as far as I know, was a human. Also, in the myths, Agamemnon was the older (?) brother of Menelaus, hence the reason why I'm making them brothers in this fic. **

**Closing Notes: As you may have noticed (those of you that have seen the Mr. Peabody movie) I changed Ajax's personality. In the film he –spoiler alert!- was a nice guy who just wanted to be in the Greek Chorus instead of the army, but here I had him as a cocky guy, who's a bit of a jerk. **

**Anywho, let me know what y'all thing of this so far. I've got chapter 2 about half way done and I already have a prequel in mind as well as a couple of sequels all planned out, I just have to type them out. :)**

**Also, let me know if I should keep this in the Mr. Peabody crossover category, or if I should move it to the 'Greek Mythology' category and leave a note that it basically takes place in the 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman' universe, or whatever. Thanks! **


	2. The Wedding: Day 1

**A/N: Yay, I got a review and a follower! :D **

**To the guest that left me that nice review: Thank you so much, and I'm glad you like the story so far! Seeing that review not only made my day, but also gave me the confidence to continue posting new chapters for this story. :-)**

**To be honest, I was worried that I may have upset some people by mentioning that while this story takes place in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman universe, I was only focusing on certain characters and everyone's favorite main characters weren't going to make any appearance. As a result, I was actually planning on taking this story down, BUT, if there really is a couple of people out there that have taken an interest in this story, then I'll go ahead and keep it posted and update it as much as I can. :-)**

**So here is chapter 2 for those that were waiting for it. **

**Now a reminder: This story only takes place in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film universe. However, said main characters do not make an appearance in this story. This fic focuses primarily on Greek Mythology. The reason why I have this story in the MPaS section is because I'm basing Agamemnon, Menelaus and some of the other Greeks on the way they look in the film. **

**Important note!: This story is going to include several appearances of the Greek Gods/Goddesses. As such, there is going to be a **_**slight**_** crossover with Disney Hercules in which I'm borrowing the movie/shows' version of the deities. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mr. Peabody and Sherman, nor am I the founder of Greek Mythology. Also, **

The Marriage of the New King and Queen

**Day 1**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the gathering of the suitors, in which Menelaus won the straw game, things in Sparta got a bit hectic in preparation for the upcoming wedding…as well as the coronation in which her parents would leave the thrones to Helen and Menelaus. Tyndareus even admitted that he and Leda, Helens' mother, were planning on moving out and leaving the Spartan palace for Helen and Menelaus.

"We've been thinking of going to Kalamata. We figured it would be far enough out of your way, but close enough if you need anything." Tyndareus assured when he first told his daughter the news.

This news didn't put Helen at ease at all. If anything, it just reminded her that she would be stuck in a home alone with her husband completely at his mercy…

A chill ran up her spine at that thought.

The soft sound of a throat clearing caught her attention, and she turned to see Aethra standing at her room entrance.

"Your mother wants to know if you are ready to discard your childhood possessions." She reported.

Helen regarded the piles of 'children' clothing and her old toys on her bed with a downtrodden look. As part of the pre-wedding rituals, Helen was instructed to burn all of her childhood belongs as a sacrifice and an attempt to get a blessing from the gods, particularly Artemis.

Slowly walking to the bed, Helen picked her favorite doll and held it close to her chest as her eyes began to water. She couldn't do this. It was too much too soon, especially since the arrangement only occurred a short week ago. 'Why couldn't they wait until winter to do this? Why does everyone insist that we had to get married at the earliest full moon?' she thought miserably.

Sensing Helens distress, Aethra approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Princess Helen?"

Helen looked up at her servant and quickly wiped her tears before reluctantly nodding. She then picked one of the empty sacks that laid beside her old stuff, and began to stuff her clothes and toys into it, while Aethra grabbed another sack, and began to help the young bride.

"It'll be okay Helen." Aethra comforted once they were done. She nodded at the doorway, and several other servants entered the room and hauled the sacks away. Once they were gone, Leda strutted in and looked down at her daughter.

"Come Helen. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can commence with the rest of the wedding preparations." She announced coldly before curtly turning and leaving the room.

Aethra placed a gentle hand on Helens' back and calmly led her out of the palace and into the courtyard, where a large fire was already raging.

Walking up to the fire, Helen took a shaky breath and grabbed the first sack. After a moment of hesitating, she threw it into the fire and watched as the flames quickly engulfed it. She grabbed the next sack and did the same, and repeated the process until they were all gone.

Once Helen's belongings were burned, her mother brought her a small knife and carefully sliced off a lock of Helen's hair as another offering to Artemis. Accoring to Leda, it was so that Artemis could help Helen as she made her passage from virginity…or something along those lines. Helen really didn't understand it, she thought it would be enough to get rid of all her childhood things, but apparently Artemis needed some virgin hair too.

After this was done, Helen was ushered back onto her home where the rest of the wedding preparations would be done.

As she was led back to her room, so that she could rest up for the following day, Helen saw that the servants had already finished cleaning up the banquet hall from the pre wedding feast that occurred earlier that day, and were now fixing it up for tomorrow's events.

Just thinking about the following day made Helen's heart pound in anticipation, and she was grateful to finally be in her own bedroom where she could, spend one last night as a single, childless woman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Penelope~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Penelope had been watching her cousin for practically the entire day. To say that Helen was just a _little_ nervous was like saying that Ares had a _slight_ fascination for war. It was one of the biggest understatements.

Helen was nowhere near ready to get married, but there was nothing that could be done. She was no different than the thousands of other young girls that were put in an arranged marriage, and the only thing she could do was just accept it. However, Penelope had to admit that Helen was pretty lucky to be matched up with someone only a few years older than her and she didn't get stuck with someone in their thirties or forties like some of the other young women did.

Another benefit to Helen marrying Menelaus was the fact that he was actually an alright guy. Penelope had managed to talk to him for a few moments at dinner, and found him very pleasant. He wasn't rude or obnoxious like some of the other suitors she had seen not too long ago when Tyndareus was trying to choose a suitable husband for Helen.

In Penelope's opinion, Menelaus seemed like a really good match for beautiful, timid Helen, and Penelope had no doubt that within time, Helen would open up to Menelaus. Perhaps in the future she and Menelaus could look back at how nervous she was and how much Menelaus blushed when they made their offering to Aphrodite for a luscious, baby-making life.

However, Penelope didn't doubt that Aphrodite would have a problem helping the two conceive a baby or two, giving that she _did_ help Menelaus win the drawing of the straws.

Penelope gave a soft smile at the memory. While no one else seemed to see her, Penelope was _sure_ she saw a tall, pink goddess with long blond hair standing behind Menelaus. She was also _positive_ that while Menelaus had his eyes closed and was about to pick out his final straw, that the goddess gently grabbed his hand (though this seemed to go unnoticed by Menelaus and everyone else) and guide it so that it picked out the winning straw.

After witnessing that, Penelope was sure that Helen and Menelaus would be happy together. After all, they _were_ matched up by the love goddess herself.

Watching Helen enter her room, Penelope smiled. 'Don't worry Helen," she thought to herself, 'Lady Aphrodite knows what she's doing.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You do know I blame you for this!" Menelaus whined as he fell back onto the bed of his temporary room.

Agamemnon furrowed his brow, "How is this _my_ fault?"

"You made me come compete with all the other suitors! I didn't _want_ to come, but you kept pushing me to, and _now_ look where I'm at!" The blond prince glared at his older brother. Agamemnon put his hands up defensively, "Take it easy bro."

Menelaus sat up and his glare intensified, "No, no, no, don't tell me to 'take it easy' alright? You may have been fine with getting married and becoming a dad at eighteen, but I'm _not_! Okay?" By now he was on his feet and had begun pacing the room, "I'm _not_ ready to become a husband. I'm _not _ready to become a king. And I am really, truly, honestly _not_ ready to become a dad! Not yet…" he sat back down on the bed and dropped his head in his hands.

Agamemnon watched his brother for a moment, and once he was sure that the rant was over, he cautiously approached his younger brother and sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on his brothers shoulder. "Look, there's nothing you can do about the wedding or becoming king. You're just gonna have to suck it up." He paused before continuing, "But if you're really that scared of having kids, then hold off on it for a while."

"I barley even know her." Menelaus mumbled through his hands.

Agamemnon was going to point out how he barley even knew Clytemnestra when he first knocked her up and married her (in that order), but then wisely decided against it…a rare wise move on his part. Instead, he settled for just trying to comfort his brother, "Seriously Menelaus, it's not that bad! You two will be _fine_, and besides, you'll be the _king_ , so no one can really pressure you to become a dad right away."

Menelaus gave Agamemnon an unimpressed look, "They may not flat out say 'hurry up and knock up your queen already!', but they _will_ keep hinting it. Agamemnon shrugged.

"Well it's none of their business when you two have kids. You and Helen do it when you're good and ready, and if it bothers everyone so much, then too bad! Let it bother them!" As he spoke, Agamemnon's volume got louder until it was practically a yell. A bad habit of when he got too excited. Menelaus glanced at the door before shushing his brother.

"Bro, keep your voice down, someone will hear you!" he hissed.

Agamemnon flinched, "Sorry!"

A knock on the door caught their attention and Menelaus gave Agamemnon an 'I told you so' look. Getting up, the future king made his way to the door and found one of Agamemnon's servants standing just outside the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but Queen Clytemnestra is wondering if King Agamemnon is ready to join her in retiring for the night." The servant reported.

Agamemnon, who had already made his way to the door, squeezed his way around Menelaus. "Yeah, I'm coming already." He turned back to his brother, "Sorry bro, but the Mrs needs me and I best not keep her waiting. I'll see you tomorrow lover boy!"

Menelaus watched him leave for a moment before rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

'Zeus _please_ give me strength for tomorrow!' he prayed before going back into his room and attempt to get at least _some_ sleep.

After all, it was going to be a _long_ day tomorrow.

**End Chapter 2**

**A/N: In ancient Greece, most weddings took place over a course of three days. The first day included the burning of the girls childhood possessions and a feast. The second day included the bride taking a ceremonial bath (with or without the groom) as well as the actual marriage as well as another feast and if I'm correct it was also the day the bride moves into her new husbands house and that night they copulate the marriage. And I think the third day is when the new couple get wedding presents…or something…**

**I know in Sparta, the wedding thing was different than other places in Greece, but in this story, I guess I'll have Helen and Menelaus be an exception. **

**I'll have the wedding part 2 and 3 up soon. I was going to post everything as one chapter, but then I figured it would work better as separate chapters. :-)**


	3. The Wedding: Day 2

**A/N: Woo! Two chapters in one day! I'm working on Day three which should be posted later today. **

**Now a reminder: This story only takes place in the Mr. Peabody and Sherman film universe. However, said main characters do not make an appearance in this story. This fic focuses primarily on Greek Mythology. The reason why I have this story in the MPaS section is because I'm basing Agamemnon, Menelaus and some of the other Greeks on the way they look in the film.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mr. Peabody and Sherman, nor am I the founder of Greek Mythology. **

The Wedding

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**Day 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

"Helen? Helen, _wake up_!"

Helen's eyes blinked open to reveal two sleepy, blue orbs. "What? What is it?" she asked groggily as she sat up and rubbed one of her eyes with a balled fist. When her eyes finally adjusted, Helen found herself starting at a large, round belly. Looking up, she saw Clytemnestra looming over her with her arms crossed.

"Mother asked me to wake you. It's time for your nuptial bath." She informed while motioning to the other side of Helen's room where a tub had been brought in, and a child was pouring in the water from a loutrophoros.

Strong anxiety griped Helen. Morpheus had done such a good job in helping Helen fall and stay asleep, that she, as crazy as it sounds, had totally forgotten that she was due to be married.

Staring at the bath, Helen gulped. Though she was only fifteen, she knew what this bath symbolized…purity and fertility. 'Why must everything revolve around fertility?' Helen mused as she crawled out of bed and made her way to take her bath.

She motioned the present child to turn around so not to see her while she undressed. Stealing a look back at her sister, she was relieved to see that Clytemnestra was busy setting up the wedding cloths and not looking in her direction. Nodding in satisfaction she quickly disrobed and settled herself into the insanely, cold bath water. Once she was completely in, she crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. The water was freezing!

"Is everything alright Helen?" Clytemnestra inquired from across the room.

"Purification is so _cold_!" Came the complaint.

"If you would have woken up sooner, the water might have been a bit warmer!"

Helen scowled at her sisters reply and instead began washing her body and hair as quickly as she could. After about ten minutes of bathing, Helen turned to the child and asked for her towel, which was swiftly handed to her, and she wasted no time climbing out of the tub and drying off.

Once she was done, she looked over at her sister. "I'm done." She announced.

Clytemnestra bounded over as fast as she could with her pregnant belly, and led Helen over to where her bridal clothes were lain out on her bed. Helen looked over her wedding chiton. It was mostly white with bits of purple here and there. Her usual sandals lay besides it, along with a yellow wedding veil and the special belt that would be tied around her waist and would only be taken off tonight while she and Menelaus were alone in his room.

"Well come on Helen, let's get you dressed." Clytemnestra ordered.

Helen quickly dropped her towel and swiftly pulled on her chiton in which Clytemnestra helped tie her belt in the bridal knot while the child, that remained even after Helen took her bath, helped put on Helen's sandals.

"Fetch Helen her arm cuffs." Clytemnestra instructed. The young girl nodded and ran to retrieve a small box from the table and brought it over to Helen.

Helen thanked the girl and opened the box to reveal two golden arm cuffs. Taking them out, she slid them on one at a time so that each one rested snuggly on her upper arms.

Once that was done, Clytemnestra sat Helen down on a stool and began working on her hair.

"I know some women like to go all out on their hair, but I always figured why bother if you're heads gonna be covered most of the time and your new…_husband_…is going to mess up your hair tonight anyway. That being said, don't expect anything fancy." She explained as she brushed through Helen's curls.

'Gods _please_ make everyone stop with the baby making stuff already!' Helen begged silently before answering her sister, "Alright Clytemnestra. Do whatever you have to do." She sighed. In the end, Clytemnestra settled with leaving most of Helen's hair loose, only tying back a small section.

Leda walked in just as her older daughter finished and gave a rare, genuine smile at her younger daughter. "You're almost ready." She whispered before making her way over to the bed and picking up the light yellow veil and settling it on Helen's head. "There she said."

Helen looked up at her mother through the veil, "Mom…I'm scared…"

"I know you are, but I promise everything is going to be alright." Leda soothed before lifting the veil and ran a hand along her daughter's cheek. "Now, the feast is going to begin in a couple of hours. Stay here until I come for you." With that, Leda left the room with Clytemnestra and the servant girl close behind.

As soon as they left, Helen dropped back down on her bed, overcome by so many emotions. She had said it before and she'll say it again. There was _no way_ she could go through with this. It was too terrifying to go through with, and she would rather avoid the whole thing. Sitting up, she carefully took off her wedding veil and glanced around the room in thought.

Would the gods get upset if she were to say…skip her own wedding all together? Had any Greek woman ever done that on their wedding day? Surely she wasn't the only one to have these thoughts.

Standing up, Helen strolled over to her window and looked down, only to groan in disappointment, she swiftly made her way to the door and peaked out, only to have the same reaction before closing the door with a loud click.

Well there goes that plan. There were way too many guards, servants, relatives and guests wondering around the halls and the courtyard for her to sneak out of the palace. "I should have known that wouldn't have worked." She mumbled while lying back down on her bed, where she would spend the next few hours trying to mentally prepare for the wedding.

Unfortunately, time seemed to fly by as before Helen knew it, the dreaded knock on her door caused her to sit up and stare at it in fear. After a second, her mother entered the room and promptly made her way to Helen, "Helen put your veil back on, the wedding is about to start!" She helped her daughter put the covering back on and pulled her to her feet. "Quickly, Menelaus is waiting for you!"

The two women jogged down the hall towards the banquet hall. "I can't believe you fell asleep!" Leda panted as they ran.

"I didn't know I feel asleep!" Helen replied while turning a corner.

"Well at least you'll be well rested for the rest of the day." Leda stated before stopping in front of the banquet doors. She and Helen took a moment to catch their breath.

Leda was the first to straighten up, "Are you ready?"

Helen shook her head, "No…"

Leda ignored her and gave a nod before pushing the doors open and leading her daughter into the room.

Automatically, everyone turned to see the young bride walk into the hall. Though no one could see it, thanks to the veil, Helen was blushing like crazy from all the attention she was receiving. Her blush intensified when she caught sight of Menelaus standing at the front of the hall.

Her groom was wearing a typical white chiton with a white himation over it. On his forearms, he wore silver wrist cuffs, and on his face was the warmest smile she had ever received from a man, though she could see the nervousness in his eyes as well.

It was nice to know she wasn't the only one terrified of this whole ordeal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Menelaus swallowed the lump in his throat when he caught sight of his bride. He couldn't exactly see his soon-to-be wives face, but seeing those blue eyes through the veil made his heart pound in anticipation. He still couldn't believe this was really happening, never did he think he would be marrying the so called 'most beautiful woman in Greece'.

'And to think, this was all because of pure luck.' He thought as he gave his almost wife a warming smile, though his grey eyes probably displayed intense fear.

Tyndareus approached his daughter and led her to where Menelaus was standing.

Menelaus could feel himself start to sweat as he looked down at Helen's covered face. Tyndareus cleared his throat and began the engyesis.

"Menelaus, I give you this girl, that she may bring children into the world within the bond of wedlock." He started. Menelaus took a shaky breath and replied,

"I accept her."

"I agree to provide a dowry, my kingdom, with her."

"I accept that too… with pleasure."

Tyndareus grinned, "Then behold your new wife! Look at her!"

Menelaus raised his shaking hands and lifted the veil up over Helen's head and met her stunning blue eyes, which were staring up into his grey ones. Tyndareus placed a hand on the newly wedded couple and turned them to face the audience.

"Behold! The new husband and wife and new king and queen of Sparta!" He announced as the crowd cheered.

Once everyone settled down, the wedding feast began. Menelaus and Helen sat beside each other, neither of them really saying anything. Not that it really mattered, the music was a bit loud anyway. Then there was the fact that they spent most of their time conversing in small talk with the various guest that come by to congratulate them on their marriage and wish them luck in having many sons.

The young couple could do nothing more than to thank the guests for their complements.

It wasn't until towards the end that Helen's older twin brothers, Castor and Pollux pulled Menelaus away to have a private brother-in-law 'conversation'.

Once they were out of hearing range and out of view from the guests, the two boys pushed Menelaus up against the wall and scowled at him.

"We don't care if you're the new king and _or_ our own brother-in-law, so we're going to give you a fair warning _right now_." Castor hissed while Pollux nodded and added, "We care a lot about Helen, and we know that she wasn't ready for any of this, _especially_ the 'activity' that's about to go on between you and her in your bedroom in a few moments."

Menelaus shifted under the two boys gaze, "I noticed and just so you know, I didn't want this either."

Castor nodded, "That may be, but just know that if you _ever_ hurt our sister in _any_ way, you'll have _us_ to deal with."

Pollux added, "And in regards to what's about to happen, if at any point it seems like you're hurting her, or if she asks you to stop, you _better_ stop. Are we clear?" He jabbed a finger into Menelaus' chest as he and his brother glared down at the new king.

"Crystal." Menelaus nodded nervously.

This seemed to satisfy the twins as they gave a single nod before straightening up. "Good. Now come on, it's nearly time for you and Helen to head over to your bedroom." Castor scowled at the thought while Pollux led them back to the hall just in time to see Helen leave with several other women close behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

Helen was busy trying to control her rapid breathing, but to no avail. The moment she had been dreading was about to arrive. In a few short moments, she would be alone and at the mercy of her new husband…forced to please him and hopefully bear him a son.

"It feels weird not doing an actual procession like we did for Clytemnestra's wedding." Helen's younger sister, Timandra, mused as they walked to Menelaus' temporary room.

Philonoe, Helen's older sister that had been granted permission from Artemis to attend Helen's wedding, replied, "That's because this is technically Helen and Menelaus' home now. Instead of her moving in with him, he's moving in with her." She shrugged. She was sure glad she had managed to join Artemis' hunt before her parents could marry her off. Too bad two of her sisters didn't manage to get away in time. Perhaps her two youngest sisters would have better luck.

After a few more moments of walking in silence, they finally arrived at Menelaus' room and stopped just outside the door.

"Phoebe, did you bring the apple like I asked you too?" Leda questioned as she looked down at a young girl.

"Yes mama, I have it right here!" Phoebe held it up for her mother to see.

"Very good, hand it to your sister."

Phoebe bounced up to Helen and held the shiny, red apple up to her older sister. "Here you go Helen!" she chirped, completely unaware of the reason _why_ Helen was supposed to eat the fruit.

Helen sighed and took the fruit, "Thank you Phoebe." Staring down at the apple, Helen took a bite. It didn't take her long to finish, thanks to everyone watching her eat and making her feel uncomfortable.

Leda took the apple core and opened the door to Menelaus' room. "Wait in here until your husband arrives. Timandra, go and inform Menelaus that Helen is ready for him." She instructed before closing the door and leaving Helen inside.

Once the door clicked, Helen began breathing very fast again, and she had to place a hand on her chest to calm herself down. Eventually, she settled for sitting at the edge of the bed and waited for her husband to arrive, all the while she rung her hands fretfully.

'Oh gods, oh gods, _oh gods_, _I can't do this_!' she thought frantically. She had heard that a womans' first time was painful and that sometimes men had a hard time holding back once they got started.

Would Menelaus be like that? He seemed like an okay guy, but still…would he be rough with her?

And what about the miserable pregnancy or the extremely painful birth she had heard so much about? Was he going to help her through all that, or would he just step aside and let her go through it on her own? And what if the baby turned out 'imperfect' or was a girl? Would he order to have it die?

So many questions and scenarios ran through Helen's mind and she was so lost in thought that she had lost track of time, and she almost fainted from fright when the door slowly began to open.

Her blue eyes widened slightly when she saw Menelaus enter the room, and close the door. Her breath caught in her throat when he took a few slow steps towards her, and she instinctively leaned back in a desperate attempt to get further away from.

However, he didn't come closer, much to Helen's confusion and relief.

Instead, Menelaus stood a few feet away from the bed staring at her in thought, as if planning his next move.

Finally he began to approach her once more and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. Helen's heart raced when he lowered himself so that he was lying on his back, staring up at her. He then patted the area next to him.

"Lay with me Helen." He instructed calmly.

Not wanting to upset her husband, Helen slowly lowered herself down onto the bed next to him and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable moment when he would roll over and mount her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was terrified, he could see it in her eyes and in the way she sat so stiffly on the bed. Seeing her like this made Menelaus make up his mind.

There was _no way_ he was going to force her to do something she wasn't ready for. Not tonight. Instead, he was going to wait until _she_ was ready, even if it took days, or weeks, or months…or even _years_. He didn't mind, he could wait as well. In the meantime, perhaps they could at least get to know each other since they didn't have a chance to do so before the wedding.

With this in mind, Menelaus made his way over to his bed, and laid on his back and stared up at Helen. When she didn't move, he patted spot next to him, inviting her to lay besides him.

Helen did so reluctantly and stared up at the ceiling, trembling ever so slightly.

"Well this has been a pretty long day, huh?" Menelaus mused while putting his arms under his head. He smiled when Helen turned to him with a surprised look, completely caught off guard by his question.

"Um…yeah it was really long…" Helen replied softly.

Menelaus took a steady breath, "If I had been able to, I would have declined the marriage proposal. In fact I didn't even want to compete with the rest of the suitors." He assured.

Helen gave a soft chuckled and shook her head, "The marriage would have happened anyway. Had you not come or even if you lost the drawing, there were still forty four other men that had a chance to marry me. Either way, you did come and it just so happens that you were the lucky winner."

Menelaus scoffed at the ceiling, "My life is anything _but_ lucky."

He saw Helen shift to get a better look at him. "How so?" she questioned innocently before quickly adding, "I mean if you don't mind talking about it." Menelaus chuckled, "I don't mind sharing." He smiled when Helen shifted onto her side and rested her head in her hand. The previous fear in her eyes was replaced with curiosity as Helen stared down at him to begin his story.

"I'm not going to bore you with too many details, so I'll just give you the basic run down of what happened. Alright?" Menelaus warned to which Helen nodded. Menelaus licked his lips and began,

"Well I guess it all started with my dad and my uncle. The had been fighting over the throne of Mycenae for _years_, and during that time they did some…uh…_unpleasant_ things to do so. Eventually my uncle Thyestes won the throne by having his son kill my dad. They would have killed us too if Agamemnon and I hadn't escaped that night." Menelaus clenched his jaw at the thought of his murderous cousin.

Helen tilted her head, "What about your mother? Did she escape too?"

Menelaus was quiet for a moment. "She passed away when Agamemnon and I were very young, but it happened way before we lost our father. Hence the reason why neither of my parents were at the wedding today."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that." Helen voiced.

"It's alright, it was a long time ago." Menelaus shrugged.

"So…what happened after your father was…you know…"

Menelaus blinked. He never thought of this story as the type one would tell their new spouse on their wedding night, but if it kept her calm and interested, then he would continue. Besides, this is what he wanted; to use this night to get to know each other before fully embracing their new status of husband and wife.

"Well, after we escaped, Agamemnon and I basically went into exile."

"Where did you two go?" Helen's blue eyes were wide in wonder.

"First we went to Sicyon and stayed with King Polyphides for a while, then after a few years, we stayed with King Oeneus at Calydon. We were gone a total of six years and basically during that time we were training and planning on going back to Mycenae and over throwing our uncle and cousin. After those six years, we met up with your dad, and he helped us kill our uncle, which was good because things in Mycenae had gotten bad under my uncle's reign. Unfortunately, our cousin, Aegisthus managed to get away. We still don't know where he is." Menelaus explained.

Helen was silent and Menelaus spoke again, "Then after Agamemnon ascended the throne, your dad invited him over to congratulate him and of course that's when he met your sister and well…we both know the story after that."

Helen nodded sadly, "Yeah I heard what happened to their first baby. I also heard that Agamemnon took it really hard."

"He was pretty upset by it." Menelaus agreed thinking of his deceased nephew.

"A lot more than my sister was I'm sure." Menelaus rose a brow when he heard Helen scoff, "I'm sorry your brother got stuck with my sister. He's so nice and he deserves someone so much better than Clytemnestra."

Menelaus turned to her, "Whoa, that's pretty harsh on your own sister." He didn't expect to hear that from Helen, despite the fact that he agreed with her one hundred percent.

Helen said nothing, but didn't look like she regretted her words. "Just out of curiosity, how old were you two when you were exiled?"

Surprised at the change of subject, Menelaus thought for a moment before replying, "I was ten and Agamemnon was twelve."

"And you two were gone for six years, so that means you were only sixteen when you fought your uncle." Helen mused.

"Yeah, and now its two years later and I'm getting married at eighteen." Menelaus huffed, "Just like my 'dear' big brother." He quickly turned to Helen, "Not that I have anything against _you_ Helen! I mean your beautiful and nice and all, its just…I wasn't ready for all this."

To his relief, Helen gave a sad smile and whispered, "I know what you mean, and I understand."

Menelaus smiled in reply.

"And what about you Helen?" He questioned, changing the topic, "Do you have any stories you feel like sharing?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Helen~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

Helen's eyes widened at the question. "My story?" she asked while looking down at her husband. Menelaus nodded, "If you have one. If not, then we'll talk about something else."

Helen thought for a moment. "Well…it's not exactly as extreme as yours, but I guess it's worth sharing." She said timidly.

"I'm listening." Menelaus assured as he looked her in the eye, giving her his full attention.

Taking a breath, Helen started, "You might not know this but…when I was seven, I was kidnapped by Theseus."

Menelaus blinked in surprise, "Really?"

Helen tilted her head in thought, "Actually it was Theseus and Pirithous that kidnapped me."

"Why?" Menelaus questioned with an arched brow, "Theseus was planning on marrying me when I came of age. Pirithous was actually planning on marrying Persephone, but when the two left to the underworld, they got trapped. During the time they were gone, my brothers, Castor and Pollux, came and rescued me. As revenge they took Theseus' mother, whom I was staying with at the time, and brought her back to Sparta, hence the reason why Aethra is here."

Helen watched Menelaus' reaction. Her husband seemed to be thinking something over, "Why did Theseus want _you_ if you were so young?"

Helen shifted on her spot, "Before I add anything else to the story, I have a confession to make." She took a deep breath. "Tyndareus isn't my real father." She admitted.

Menelaus sat up in astonishment, "He's _not_?"

"Don't get me wrong, he loves me like I was his own, and I _do_ love him very much, it's just…I know for a fact he's not my birth dad." She explained.

Her husband furrowed his brows in confusion, "Then…who _is_ your father?"

Helen shook her head, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. And even if you did believe me, I don't want you to feel overwhelmed or intimidated or something."

"Come on, how bad can it be? I'm sure I can handle it." Menelaus questioned with a smirk. Helen bit her lip. 'Well it's not like I didn't warn him.' She thought.

"Well…believe it or not, my real father is…Zeus." She paused and practically broke out laughing when she saw her husband's face. His eyes were wide in shock, and he was now sitting up and staring down at Helen in shock.

"No kidding?! You're _really_ the daughter of Zeus?"

Helen shrugged and nodded. Menelaus lowered himself back down next to her and stared up at the ceiling.

"I'm married to a demigoddess…." He breathed in astonishment.

Helen watched him stare at the ceiling, the rising and falling of his chest was hypnotic, and she practically fell asleep as she observed the steady movement, though she forced herself to stay awake. She figured it wouldn't be long until he decided it would be time to start consummating their marriage. No doubt the guards outside the room were probably wondering why it was so quite.

After a few moments of silence, Menelaus turned his head and locked eyes with her.

'Oh gods…here we go.' She tensed in preparation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Menelaus~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'A _demigoddess_…a daughter of _Zeus_!' Menelaus thought in awe as he stared up at the ceiling. He had heard of and met several sons and daughters of the gods and goddesses, but never in his life did he ever think he would actually become the son-in-law to the almighty Zeus! If he was freaking out about marrying Zeus's daughter, he had to wonder what was going through Theseus's mind when he decided to kidnap Helen.

Turning to Helen, Menelaus frowned, "So…Theseus kidnapped you _why_?" he inquired.

Helen shrugged, "Apparently Theseus was a son of Poseidon…or Aegeus, I'm not sure _who_ his dad was, and Pirithous was either a son of Zeus or Ixion. Either way, for some reason or another, they thought they were entitled to marry a daughter of Zeus, and it just so happened that Pirithous had his eye on Persephone while Theseus decided to go after me. Then like I said, he and Pirithous got trapped in the Underworld and my brothers managed to rescue me.

Menelaus shifted his weight, "And he hasn't bothered you since?"

Helen shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"That's good." The two smiled before looking away in silence.

An awkward silence soon filled the room and Menelaus quickly racked his mind of something else to talk about.

After a moment or two, he turned back to Helen with a smirk, "You wanna hear about the time Agamemnon and I pranked our nanny?"

Helen, who seemed to have calmed down, nodded eagerly, and Menelaus began his tale.

After he was done, he and Helen shared a good laugh when he mentioned his ex- nanny's misfortune before Helen began to share her own nanny story, which then led to the two spending the majority of the night exchanging humorous tales from their childhoods.

It wasn't until deep into the night that Helen finally gave a yawn and drifted off to sleep.

Menelaus grabbed the spare blanket and covered his new wife. "Good night Helen." He whispered before lying on his side, making sure to keep his back to her to give her a better sense of security.

Just as he closed his eyes, he heard her soft voice,

"Good night Menelaus."

Then to his surprise, he felt her snuggle against him. Turning his body, he cautiously wrapped an arm around her. When she didn't show any sign of discomfort, he gave a soft smile and closed his eyes.

'I guess this won't be so bad after all.' He thought before Morpheus pulled him into a deep sleep.

**End Chapter 3**

**A/N: Alright, that's day 2, Day 3 should be up soon! **


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